


elementary

by distractionpie



Series: Sweethearts AU [1]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, Crushes, Gen, M/M, Puppy Love, but entirely free of angst!, impatient matchmaker Bill strikes again, new kid, passing notes, this is silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 07:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11031456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distractionpie/pseuds/distractionpie
Summary: Bill's gotta look out for Babe, it's part of being the oldest, but Babe doesn't make it easy, especially when he's more interested in the new kid than listening to Bill's lessons.





	elementary

Bill is moving up to middle school in the fall and so it is incredibly important that he taught Babe everything he needed to know sooner rather than later. Oh sure, they would still see each other around the neighbourhood and whenever Babe came to his house or Bill went over to the Heffron place, but it isn't the same thing. Bill's older brothers had warned him about middle school, about the detentions and the homework and if they were any indicator once he got there he would be too busy for kid stuff anymore. He didn't want to leave Babe on his own without being able to fend for himself though, not when Babe still needed Bill's help to get his shoes tied if he wants the knots to stick for more than ten minutes.  

So it is pretty annoying when he waits for Babe by the jungle gym at recess and Babe doesn't turn up. It's possible that he's been kept inside, but Bill had told Babe he was gonna teach him how to stand up on the swings today and Babe had promised to be on his best behaviour.  

Bill is just starting to wonder if Babe has chickened out him when Babe comes running over. His laces are undone, like usual, but he makes it to Bill without tripping.  

"Where have you been?" Bill asks, there's a line for the swings now and they'll never get a turn.  

"There's a new kid in my class!" Babe says, as if that's more exciting than the swings. "His name is John Julian, but there's already a John and a Jonny in my class so he and the teacher agreed we should call him Julian."  

Bill stares at him. "So?"  

"So he's cool!" Babe says. "The teacher gave him a desk on the row in front of me and he put his hand up twice in math and got it right both times and his hair is really shiny and the teacher said she was gonna pick someone to help him learn his way around but she picked Renee because Renee knows what it's like to be new even though I don't think it's fair to make Julian hang out with a _girl_."  

"Girls aren't _that_ bad," Bill says, but Babe isn't listening.  

"Anyway, the teacher wanted to talk to him after class so I waited in the hall so I could talk to him when he came out but then I saw Gene coming out of his classroom and I asked what he got held back for because Gene is never in trouble and he said he wasn't held back he was just helping his teacher put the scissors away and then when I turned around Julian and Renee were already going down the hall and I tried to chase after them but I tripped and they got away." By the time he's done talking, Babe is out of breath.  

"Couldn't you just talk to him some other time?" Bill asks. "You didn't have to make me wait."  

"You don't get it," Babe says, throwing his hands in the air. "Now he'll have met all Renee's friends and they'll all want to be his friend and then I'll never get to talk to him ever!"  

“If he sits in front of you can’t you just talk to him in class,” Bill wonders.  

Babe looks at him like he’s an idiot. “He answered in math. _Twice_. He’s not gonna want me talking when the teacher is, he’s _smart_.”  

“Or just lucky,” Bill says, and Babe socks him in the arm.  

“Aw heck Babe,” Bill cries. “How many times do I gotta tell you, Henry says to put your thumb on the outside if you’re gonna punch someone?”  

Babe huffs, sticking his still incorrectly curled fists in his pockets, and is sulky all the way till the end of recess.  

*  

When the lunch bell rings, Babe meets Bill in the cafeteria like usual and isn't even late, so Bill hopes he'd going to be normal. But just as Bill is just trying to decide if he wants chicken nuggets or a pizza slice, Babe starts tugging at his sleeve, practically bouncing as he points to a kid joining the line a few people behind them.  

"That's him!" Babe hisses, in the loud whisper that makes him so bad at hide and go seek.  

The kid is talking to one of the lunch ladies, who is explaining how the line works even though it's not difficult, and Bill doesn't quite see what all the fuss is about. "He talks funny."  

"He's from Alabama," Babe says, sounding far too excited given that Bill is pretty sure Babe wouldn't be able to point to Alabama on a map. Then again, perhaps that was the appeal. “They don’t have snow there,” Babe adds. “I heard him telling Renee in class.”  

“No snow?” Bill says, incredulously. “Like, not even on Christmas?”  

Babe shakes his head. “I bet he doesn’t even know how to make a good snowball. I could show him if it was winter, but it’s not…”  

Bill is preoccupied. “Does that mean they never have snow days?” he asks. “What about sledding?”  

“I dunno,” Babe says. “Hey! Maybe you could ask him? I bet he’d talk to you. You’re cool.”  

“Nuh-uh,” Bill says, “I wanna get my lunch, and then we’re going to play kickball with Joe and George. I already promised them, if you don’t come we won’t have enough for teams. Talk to him in class or something.”  

Babe pouts, but cheers up soon enough when the lunch lady gives him extra ketchup with his pizza.  

Freak.  

*  

Walking home is always exciting, since now that Bill is getting ready for middle school their moms have started letting them walk alone, but today Babe is dragging his heels.  

When Bill finally asks him what's up, he heaves an enormous sigh. "I don't think Julian likes me," he says glumly. "We got to pick a partner in gym this afternoon and he picked Tommy even though I asked him fastest."  

"So?" Bill shrugs. "He's just some dumb new kid. He doesn't even have any friends here yet, and you have loads already. Cooler friends, like me."  

"It's not the same," Babe whines. "I don't get it. Why wouldn't he want to be my partner? Tommy isn't even good at gym."  

"You aren't even good at gym," Bill points out. He doesn't know who Tommy is but he'd have to be really bad to be worse than Babe. "Your laces come undone all the time and then you fall over them."  

"He doesn't know that," Babe argues. "And I'm still better than stupid Tommy."  

“You only think he’s interesting because he’s new,” Bill complains.  

Babe kicks him. Bill doesn’t know where all this aggression is coming from, but he thinks he likes it, and they wrestle as much as they walk the rest of the way home.  

*  

On Wednesday, Bill is held back to talk to his teacher about using indoor voices in class but when he gets outside Babe isn’t on the swings or the jungle gym or running about with their other friends.  

Instead he’s standing on his own near the fence at the edge of the playground, kicking pebbles. When Bill gets nearer he can see that Babe is clutching a fistful of slightly squashed buttercups.  

"Whatcha got there?" Bill asks.  

"Nothing," Babe says, shoving the flowers behind his back as if that might make Bill forget. Then he sighs, dropping his hands and says, "I was gonna give them to Julian, because, y'know, they're nice and he's nice and I thought he might like them. But then Roy saw me picking them and he laughed and said that flowers were dumb so..." he shrugs. “I don’t want Julian to think I’m dumb.”  

Bill frowns. “I thought you decided Julian didn’t like you.”  

“I don’t know!” Babe says. “He didn’t pick me in gym on Monday, but then he let me use his pencil sharpener yesterday and it’s one of the fancy ones with a section to catch the stuff that comes off, but when I asked him today to get lunch with us-”  

“You what?” Bill asks. Their lunch table was cool and he’d worked hard to get it that way, he didn’t need Babe messing that up.  

Babe shakes it head. “He said he already promised to sit with Renee and Gene again even though he already sat with them twice this week. I thought the flowers might make him like me, not think I’m dumb.”  

Bill shakes his head. “If the flowers are so dumb, why are you still holding them?”  

Babe looks down at them. “I dunno… they’re pretty. I don’t wanna just put them in the trash or back on the ground. It wouldn’t be right.”  

“Well then go give them to him,” Bill says, “And if anyone says you’re dumb just punch ‘em in the nose.”  

Babe nods, then looks across the playground to where Julian is sitting quietly in the grass talking to some kids Bill doesn’t know. Babe takes three steps in their direction, then turns a funny shade of pink and turns back, saying, “I can’t do it!”  

Oh. _Oh._ Bill has seen this before.  

Last year when they’d come back from summer break George Luz had come back with his hair longer than any of the other boys in the class and half spiked up with gel and bragged about how he’d convinced his mom to stop making him get haircuts. Joe Toye, who shared Bill’s desk and was his classroom buddy, had told him that it looked dumb and fluffy and spent the next three weeks sulking and flicking spitballs into George’s hair or leaning across the table to pull it whenever the teacher wasn’t looking, and then blushing every time George laughed and told him his aim was good or just stuck his tongue out and rubbed his hair back into place, which had lasted until George had got gum in his hair and had to get it cut back short like everyone else. Three weeks later George had loaned Joe his Spiderman eraser and said he could keep if he liked, and after that they’d spent a lot of time holding hands under the table when the teacher wasn’t looking. When he’d complained to his mom about them being weird, she’d ruffled his hair and told him that they must have crushes on each other and that what Henry had told him about cooties wasn’t true and he should be happy his friends were happy.  

Babe has been doing a lot of unnecessary sulking too lately, though it’s over everything to do with Julian not just his hair, and the blushing is the final clue.  

Except Bill’s mom had said that he should be happy about crushes because they made his friends happy, and Babe isn’t happy right now.  

He thinks about it for the rest of lunch break, and is distracted in his afternoon classes, although the teacher doesn’t notice because she’s too busy telling George and Joe off for passing notes, something they’ve been doing ever since she moved them to desks on opposite sides of the room to keep them from whispering to each other all the time.  

When he walks home he’s quiet, but it doesn’t matter because Babe is quiet and sulky too. It’s not until he’s doing his homework that the solution occurs to him.  

He pulls a sheet out of his exercise book, and does his best impression of Babe’s messy handwriting:  

   

Dear Julian,  

Do you like me?  

Yes □

No □ 

From Babe.  

   

He looks at it, then frowns and goes to ask his sister if he can borrow some of her crayons.  

When he’s done, it looks perfect. 

Step one = awesome. 

Now all he has to do is find a way to get it to Julian.  

*  

*  

He quickly realises that slipping Julian the note is going to be a lot harder than writing it was, but fortunately he has two experts on hand. Nobody does passing notes like George and Joe do passing notes. George is excited for the challenge of passing a note to somebody in a different class without being caught, and when George is excited Joe usually goes along with it, as long as there are no scissors involved.  

They choose first recess as their time to strike and, as George explains as he’s outlining his strategy to Bill in whispers, there’s really no avoiding getting into trouble. In fact, it’s integral to their plan. As all of the other kids rush outside they hang back, making their way to the floor below where Babe and Julian’s class is.  

They wait until the corridor is mostly empty and then Bill turns to Joe and says, as loudly as he can, “You suck!”  

In response Joe pushes him and yells, though not as loud as Bill, “Well you suck more!”  

“Loser,” Bill retaliates.  

“Weirdo,” is Joe’s response.  

And then Bill makes his move, taking a deep breath and yelling, “OW! You _hit_ me!” at the top of his voice and rushing at Joe.  

Just as predicted, Babe and Julian’s teacher comes rushing out of the classroom, and George slips in before the door can swing shut behind her.  

Bill has done is best to describe Julian’s backpack to George, now all George has to do it find it, which shouldn’t be so hard because most of the other kids have local sports teams on their bags, and then sneak back out, which requires Bill and Joe to keep up their part of the plan.  

Joe gets Bill into a headlock, something that Bill will have to later assure him only happened because Bill _let_ him, and Bill thrashes as wildly as he can.  

“Boys!” the teacher yells, but Bill keeps flailing until she tries to physically separate them.  

They don’t want to get into _too_ much trouble, so that’s the point that they break apart, straightening up. Bill smiles angelically. “Hi Miss!”  

“What on earth are you two doing?” she says. “You know the rules about fighting.”  

“We weren’t fighting,” Joe says innocently.  

“It’s for our class play,” Bill agrees. “Our teacher said the best parts will go to the people who practise the most.”  

“He’s my second best friend,” Joe adds, and Bill turns to glare at him.  

“I’m your _best_ friend. George doesn’t count.”  

“Babe’s your best friend,” Joe argues. “You don’t get to be my best friend and have another best friend, that’s not fair.”  

The teacher looks down at them both, then sighs. “You two are in Mr. Eisenhower’s class,” she says. “I’ll be telling him about this. I’m quite sure he didn’t might for you to practise fighting in the corridors.”  

“We weren’t practising fighting, we were practising acting,” Bill starts to argue, but then he sees George slip out of the classroom, making a double thumbs-up with his hands. “But we’re really sorry, miss? Aren’t we Joe?”  

“Won’t happen again,” Joe agrees. “We should go outside, right miss?”  

The teacher pinches the bridge of her nose and then nods. “Be off with you. And I don’t want to hear about you practising your fake fighting on the playground either.”  

“Yes miss,” they chorus, and Bill grins with satisfaction at job well done as she returns to the classroom.  

Step two = win. 

*  

There’s nothing he can do after that but wait.  

He’s on second lunch today, so as soon as they’re let out of the classroom he rushes to the playground, making his way around the building to where Babe’s class comes out. He hides behind a trashcan so that Babe doesn’t see him, watching Babe go to their usual hangout spot, and waits to see Julian, who Bill follows.  

Julian sits down on one of the benches, sticking close to a blonde girl, Renee. For a while they just talk, and Bill starts to get bored and fidgety, but then Renee opens her backpack and pulls out a bar of chocolate and Julian reaches into his own like he’s looking for a snack to match but instead pulls out the folded paper that George had delivered.  

Bill watches, grinning, as Julian unfolds the note. He starts to get nervous though, when Julian’s nose crinkles up and he leans sideways and whispers something to Renee.  

Bill had written the note thinking Julian would read it and tick the ‘yes’ box right away, because Babe was likable enough for a little kid, and Julian is a little kid too so he couldn’t even judge Babe for that. Julian is lucky to have Babe liking him.  

Renee leans over Julian’s shoulder to read the note, then looks up and points across the playground at Babe. Julian pulls a surprised face and he stands up. Bill decides the best thing to do is to sneakily follow to make sure Babe has backup if Julian says anything mean, and because it’s a good note, so he sticks to the bushes as goes. A glance back shows that Renee is watching him, but when he puts a finger to his lips she smiles and makes a zipping gesture in return.  

The hedges stop halfway across the playground, so Bill can’t get as close as he likes without giving himself away but even from a distance Bill can see Babe’s face going as red as his hair as Julian walks up to him.  

He keeps trying to edge forward because he wants to _hear_ but it’s hard because they’re talking so quiet, quieter than Bill thought Babe even knew how to be.  

Julian doesn’t show Babe the note close up, which is a relief since Bill is pretty sure Babe would recognise his handwriting despite his attempts to disguise it  

Whatever Julian says next makes Babe frown, and Bill gets ready to come out of his hiding place if he needs to. Babe ducks his head and turns away, crossing his arms over his chest and looking sulky. 

Then Julian leans forward and presses his lips against Babe’s cheek. Babe’s raises his head in a jerk of surprise, the movement causing their mouths to touch. For a moment, they are frozen like that, before Julian pulls away and outright sprints across the playground, fast enough that he could win a prize on sports day. Babe stares after him, then slowly raises his fingers to poke curiously at where Julian had kissed him. 

Still bright red, Babe starts to grin. 

Mission = accomplished. 


End file.
